The Wolf
by Pyocola Analogue III
Summary: In life you have very few real friends. Some times that really good friend is a loyal person...Or a loyal pet. Slight SasuSaku at end.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the plot and Ami.

Notice: This was just a random idea I had. There is slight SasuSaku, so I but in under romance. I hope every one likes it. Also, italic is the thoughts of Ami.

Searching for That Warm Hand

_I had no name. I had no mother, no father, no sisters no brothers. I was just a little lonely ball…Until you gave me a home and a loving hand to cuddle. Something worth protecting._

He moved a small amount of brush from his view. He'd heard a persistently growing whine and he was baffled. He was curious, being no more than three. "Sasuke! What are you doing?!" His mother cried. He glanced back at her. Her hair fell over her shoulders. She had her tidy white apron on over her casual black dress. He blinked, his onyx orbs confused at her hurried approach. His brother and father chuckled at him from where they sat by the door where they'd been watching him playing before. He then returned to his search and looked down at the wrangly little body covered in dirt and leaves. It looked like a little pup. Its eyes were half open, and it was crawling in a pathetic mass on the ground, but it looked at him. Its eyes were mesmerizing blue. "Oh God! What is that thing?!" His mother shrieked as she tore him away from it, clenching him against her bosom.

His father and brother were up, with kunai, in seconds, rushing over. "Puppy." He stated absently, squirming in his mother's arms and reaching for it. The family looked at the youngest child in shock. He was set down, to test, and he waddled to the littler creature. He scooped it up, similarly to his mother, and its little back feet almost reached the ground. He looked at them with a scowl and pulled it closer, twisting it slightly to the side as if trying to hide it from them. "Mine!" He stated matter-of-factly. His older brother smiled and chuckled while his parents exchanged worried glances.

"Now, Sasuke-Chan, I don't think you should be like that. It's a wild animal. It could have diseases or fleas or be rabid." His mother cooed, trying to persuade him to release the dying thing. It was just abandoned, unwanted by its parents, and it seemed this family would turn it away again.

He turned, his back facing them. He looked back with teary eyes and a pout. "No! Mine! Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine!" He cried out, stamping his little feet to give his little temper tantrum more effect. His parents looked at each other again.

It was his brother, Itachi, who convinced them to agree. "I think you should let him keep it. If we don't take it in it'll die for sure. Plus dogs and wolves can be trained as very good shinobi and be quite loyal to their masters. If you're worried it's ill or diseased then give it a bath and take it to the Inuzuka family for a check-up." He stated nonchalantly. The adults agreed and from that day foreword, Uchiha Sasuke was the proud owner of a little caramel colored wolf pup.

_You gave me a name I could be proud to own. You told me all your secrets. It was basic instinct to trail at your heels._

She sat there, her tail swishing anxiously. The door slowly opened and she barked put his arrival. "I'm home puppy!" He proclaimed eagerly as she jumped into his waiting arms. She licked his face and he fell over laughing, rubbing the sides of her neck. He was now five. She was two.

"Uchiha Sasuke, please give that pup of yours a bath! She stinks to high Heaven!" His mother stated with a loud sigh. "She's trailing mud and dirt in to the house! I don't like washing the floors you know." Mikoto complained. Sasuke looked at his muck covered mutt. He beamed at her, covered in soot from the fire place, mud from a rain puddle out in the back, leaves of various girths and colors clinging to her knotted up fur. "If you don't give her a bath, she's sleeping outside tonight." She warned him softly. He looked at her in sheer horror. Ever since he'd taken the little pup into his care, not a night had gone by that she didn't sleep up against his warm tummy.

"Come on, puppy!" He stated before grabbing a bottle of doggy shampoo, a towel and a bath mat from the nearby closet. They kept the bath mat so that her feet wouldn't get dirty while she was washed. She barked in her high soprano tone and patted after him, leaving a trail of puppy prints behind her. "My poor floors." Mikoto breathed tragically.

Sasuke turned the house on and began rubbing the majority of dirt and other things from her body. "Puppy, I have a secret to tell you." He stated nervously. She perked up, her wet head turning to him. He looked at her then back at her dirty fur. "Okay, so, there's this new girl around here. Her name is Haruno Sakura and she's really cute. Her hair is pink, just like sakura blossoms! And-And she has this really sparkly green eyes! Their really really pretty! Like, super pretty puppy! Hmm…Puppy, huh?" He trailed off, rubbing the pink shampoo in to his pet's coat. She looked at him again, ears perking up like little mountains. "Kiba named his puppy Akamaru, and he's only had him for a couple of days! I've had you a lot longer! I should name you!" He cheered and then set to thinking while cleaning. He thought and pondered like Winnie Pooh as he rinsed out her shampoo. He then smiled and nodded vigorously. "I know! I've got the perfect name for you! How about Ami? It means 'Friend'!" He cheered. Her tail swished eagerly and she barked a few loud rounds. He smiled and began to rub her down with the towel. "From now on you're my little Ami! Come on Ami!" He yelled as he ran inside. She barked again and followed right after her master.

_Sadly, our happy times did not last. One night, Itachi-Nii-Chan killed Mother and Father. You were so sad, so lonely. You needed me than more than ever before. _

When he walked in, now eight, he didn't touch the head of the little pet that had eagerly waited up for him. She looked at him sadly as he walked in to the old kitchen. She followed, whining, and watched him. He pulled out a tomato and began to slowly eat it. He looked at her curiously, finally noticing her. He knelt down beside her and she padded over. "I still have you, right, Ami?" He asked softly, offering her a small piece of the juicy red fruit. She licked it up and lapped the juices from his fingers. He began to lightly stroke her fur and gave a haunting smile. "Right, I still have you. Ami, we have to start training." He stated, leading her outside.

He pointed toward a tree and she darted over, tail wagging. She bowed gracefully, her rump in the air. She was expecting him to throw a stick, or own of Itachi's scrolls to get back at him, like usual but he didn't. The next thing she knew, a shuriken was resting in her left shoulder and another in her right hind leg. She yelped and ran around, chasing herself to yank the pain-inducing things from her body. "No! Ami, you leave those in! You need to learn to dodge, catch, and deflect weapons!" He called, and she looked at him in pain and fear. A maniacal grin was twisting up his lips, giving him a demonic appearance, and she was scared. This wasn't her master. "You need to learn so you can help me to kill Big Brother." He laughed out hollowly.

_You were so cruel back then. You realized your wrong though, and I learned from my mistakes. I become the command killer you wanted, but I tried to hold on to my gentle ways. You'd still pet me occasionally, but they were not the same hands. They were not my warm hands._

He was thirteen now, packing his things in his backpack. Ami had been snoozing at the foot of his bed. She sat up and watched him turn the picture of his genin team upside down on the desk. She whined softly. She was ten now, older and wiser, but she still knew when things were not right. He looked at her with that somber gaze before scratching lightly at her favorite spot, right behind her left ear. Her tail wagged and she licked his wrist. "Good girl Ami. Stay here and guard the house." He stated softly before heading out. She trailed after him to the edge of the Uchiha compound. She howled her sorrowful song as he walked away.

Her heart hammered in her chest, filling her body with panic and adrenaline. She glanced around. He ordered her to stay here. It was his order. Ami had never gone against her masters wishes. She always did what he said, in hopes his hands would become warm on her head again. She whined, paced in a circle, than surrendered. She chased after his silhouette stealthily in the shadows. He was her only know-how, her only precious thing. He was her whole world.

She listened to the girl who confessed her love so loudly. It was the girl he mentioned so many years ago when she was still very little. She watched him bite his lip before knocking her out. She watched him gently kiss her forehead before turning and leaving her on that bench. Still she followed him. She nearly jumped from her cover when the four scary people locked him up in that barrel. They fed him a pill, then he was in sheer pain and she felt her furs stand on end. She fought bitterly against the urge to rush to him and protect him from these horrible people. She followed them through the forest, never leaving the person who held her owner captive. She watched him fight his best friend. She cried and sobbed on the inside when he changed because she knew at that moment that her master had truly ran head first in to the darkness in his heart. She listened and watched as he looked at his best friend after their battle. "Naruto? Naruto…Tell Sakura I loved her." He mumbled before beginning to walk off. Ami walked over to the unconscious boy and waited for his help to come. Then she was right after her master, ignoring the other dog who tried to call her back to them.

When his master entered the frightening place, she still followed in the shadows. When he was safely in his assigned room, she walked out. He looked at her in surprise, then glared hard and angrily. "You stupid animal! What the hell did I tell you to do?! Why did you follow me?!" He screamed. She didn't flinch away from him as he stood and screamed at her. He looked around, grabbed a nearby glass, and threw it at her. She didn't try to dodge or catch or deflect it like he taught her. It shattered against her head and cut eyes a bit. She didn't whine or yelp or cry out. She remained silent and watched his face. He looked at her with sheer horror. She looked like she was crying tears of blood for him. Slowly, she padded over and rested her head in his lap. He pulled her head close and burrowed his face into the soft fur of her throat. She closed her eyes. Mixed with the blood, if you looked hard enough, you'd see her own tears. "Ami. I'm so sorry Ami." He sobbed softly and she just stayed there. She didn't move, didn't make a noise, didn't open her eyes. She just stayed there, letting her master hold her and let out all his raw emotions.

_You never knew, because I never told you, that my eye sight began to diminish slowly after that. The silver haired man with the ponytail noticed, and kept my eyes working. While I was away, looking for some herbs for him that you'd ordered me to get you killed the snake and run away. I followed you, but it took a while. When I found you, you had new team mates._

She sniffed the air, then looked backward on the path she traveled. He was coming. He wasn't alone. She waited impatiently for him and his new crew. When they came into sight, her old thirteen year old eyes began to blur out a little. That would be bad later. Kabuto had, unknowingly to Sasuke, kept her eyes working perfectly with her age. Without his medicine, she knew she'd go blind soon. But she needed to stay with him. Even if she was blind, she'd use her nose to follow after him. She needed him like a bee needed honey.

She examined each person carefully. One was another female, which Ami disliked a large sum. Her hair was a dark red, like a rose in bloom, and her eyes were dark purple. They clashed, in Ami's opinion. She wore a purple coat that was zipped to reveal her flat stomach. A pair of far too short black short went with it. And then black boots that went up half her thigh, leaving a good five inches of her thigh revealed. Ami had never thought too lowly about any one, but she felt this woman could be the definition of the word "Slut" she'd heard her master use a few times in the past when referring to a girl named Ino. She looked at Ami in an almost pitying way as she latched on to Sasuke.

The other two were male, which bothered her less. One had orange hair spiked up and wore a regular white tee and tan shorts. He looked at her and smiled. Seemed to be an animal lover, she guessed. The other wore a purple sleeveless top with a pair of longer white pants. His hair was silver and just fell lazily over his top. They went down to about his ankle where black ankle guards and the regular ninja shoes took over. A large sword was strapped to his back and he looked at her in annoyance. "What the hell is that stupid mongrel doing here?! It's looking at us as if it means to fight!" The silver haired man snapped angrily. She growled and bared her teeth at him. He growled, pulled out a kunai, and tossed it at her. She caught it and ran at him. He threw his sword down in hops of slashing her but she used the kunai to block him.

"Suigetsu, leave her alone. She's mine." Sasuke stated flatly. The silver haired man, known as Suigetsu, looked excited. He must have thought that Sasuke was going to kill her. Ami wagged her tail as he knelt in front of her. He looked at her with no emotion and her wagging halted. "Ami, go. Go be a real wolf. We can never return to the way we were. I don't need you anymore." He stated flatly. Ami's eyes blurred a little and her heart broke. He patted her head apathetically and his hands were so icy she almost yelped. He and his group walked away and she ran far away. Her heart was broken and she felt like all she had to live for was gone. She disappeared in to the woods, hoping to escape this new found hurt.

_You abandoned me. For a few years I just wandered around blindly. My eye sight was gone and it was so dark. My life was so dark without you, my master. But my nose led me back to you. My ears picked up to the sounds of weapons clanging. You were being attacked and needed me. I couldn't turn away from you. I didn't turn my back._

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, nose leading and ears double checking. "You said Konoha was the reason it all happened! You told me Itachi did it because Konoha ordered him to!" It was Sasuke. She halted and sniffed the air. His comrades from those years back when he left her were there but their scents were mixed with blood. They were useless. There was another. She knew this smell. The man who helped Itachi that night. Uchiha Madara, as Itachi had called him.

"I lied, you fool! Itachi killed your family because I used my sharingan to trick him in to doing it! I lied to you to get you to do my work for me! You were so blinded, so foolishly stupid it was almost boring!" He laughed. She heard a ripping and the metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils. Sasuke let out a hiss of pain. "And now you'll die like all the others and I'll have your eyes!"

_I needed my sight. And as if God was granting me my wish, I saw again. But I didn't see you all grown up. I saw all the you's that had loved me and held me with those warm hands._

Sasuke had closed his eyes. When he heard a soft gasp from Madara he opened his eyes. His own eyes opened wide. She was there. Ami, his loyal pet, was there. She was holding the blade between her jaws, blood gushing forth. Madara snorted and ripped the blade back. Her gums were slit open and she let put an audible yelp. She glanced back at him, eyeing his katana. "Ami." He whispered in disbelief. She took his sword in her ruined mouth and looked at Madara. He was severely damaged. Just one blow would be all it'd take. She looked back at Sasuke again, seeing the confused eighteen year old. She then smiled slightly and ran foreword at the man. She'd made her final decision. She decided that fifteen was a good old age for a wolf like her to die. She threw the blade into the man's chest and his collided with her's, just above her heart.

_I had no name. I had no mother, no father, no sisters no brothers. I was just a little lonely ball…Until you gave me a home and a loving hand to cuddle. Something worth protecting. Something worth protecting with my whole being. Something worth dying for._

When she opened her eyes again she was in a hospital. She was numb, couldn't move well, and could feel herself losing. She heard soft talking just outside the room. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but my sister did all she could. She's fading fast so if you'd like you can go in and see her." Ami didn't know this person.

"Kakashi-Sensei, can I borrow Pakkun? I…I need a translator." It was her master and her little tail wagged instinctively. There was a short silence before somebody responded, "Of course." She heard the door open and again her tail just wagged without her knowing.

It was Sasuke with that strange dog she'd seen all those years ago, when he left the village. So his name was Pakkun? Not that knowing that now mattered much. He sat on a chair so that they were eye level. "Ami. Oh Ami, hey did you do that? I told you to leave. Why did you come back?" He begged softly. She let out a few soft barks. He looked at the other dog who slowly spoke.

"All those years ago your parents told you to leave me in that brush. You refused. You told me to leave you alone but I couldn't. I love you, Master." Pakkun repeated softly. Sasuke's eyes flashed with surprise then looked at her sadly.

"You remember that?" He asked with a sad smile. She smiled and nodded faintly. Her tail wagged. She barked a little again.

"I remember everything. I can't forget." He stated calmly, translating her words again. She let out a few more. "I remember you telling me about that girl you liked. Marry her. You love her and she loves you. I know it."

He looked down at her. "Is there anything that you want in specific right now? Any thing I can give you now?" He asked. His voice was breaking. His eyes were teary. He was going to miss her and she felt her heart soaring. So he did love her the same.

_In the end, I had only one simple wish. And you gave it to me._

She looked at him with her large blue eyes, still so beautiful. She barked a few more things then remained silent and watched him. "All I want is to be held by the warm hands I've been searching for all this time. That's all I want." Sasuke's eyes widened and his heart broke. He began to cry softly, fat tears streaming door his face. He slowly picked her up like a little baby. He used one arm to hold her close while the other scratched her favorite spot, right behind her left ear. She let out a soft bark and he didn't need a translation that time. It was clearly an "I love you." He looked down at her. She was smiling, eyes closed, and she looked like she was only sleeping. "I love you too, My Ami." He whispered before burrowing his face in the soft fur of her chest and mourning over the last member of his family.

_In the end those hands were so warm. They were the hands I searched for. You see, my beloved Master, while you searched for yourself so did I. I searched for the real you that would have those beautiful, loving, warm hands. And in the end, I was happy because I found them._

Sasuke watched his three year old son curiously. He was wondering near the brush by the trees. Sakura gaped, set their little girl in his arms and ran over. "Uchiha Kisuke, what in the world are you doing?!" She cried. Sasuke watched his little mini-me scoop something up and run toward him. He then stopped, pouting and looked at his mother. "Puppy." He stated and Sasuke's eyes widened. There, in his son's arms, was a white wolf pup. "Mine!" Kisuke whined when Sakura tried to separate them. Sasuke smiled lightly, remembering his Ami. Sasuke bit back a few tears, deciding that it would be best.

"Let him keep it Sakura. It might become his most loyal friend someday."

End

I burst out sobbing at the end. This story is in honor to all the pet owners and their loyal pets out there. Whether it be a cat or dog or bird or fish or what ever, it will always be someone's Ami.


End file.
